


The first Christmas without You

by FixitDWF



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Christmas, Family, First Christmas, Grief, Holiday, Hurt, Multi, Pain, Tragedy, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-02-28 02:37:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2715806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FixitDWF/pseuds/FixitDWF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cass Hamada knew this holiday season would be an extremely tough one for not only herself, but for her Nephew Hiro as well. Warning, contains a spoiler in the first chapter, so if you hadn't seen Big Hero 6 yet, I'd advise you avoid this story until you go see it!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Cass Hamada knew this holiday season would be an extremely tough one for not only herself, but for her nephew Hiro as well as she busied herself with the traditional decorating of the Lucky Cat Café.

She just got finished putting up the garland and lights all around the shop windows. Now, all that was left was putting up the Christmas Tree, which was usually a job for her older nephew Tadashi but sadly, he was no longer with the Hamada family.

Earlier in the year, there had been an accident at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology during the annual school showcase, a night that should have been the happiest night of the Hamada family’s life, but quickly turned into a nightmare as a fire suddenly broke out inside the school’s expo hall where the showcase was being held.

Tadashi, always willing to help other people in need, quickly rushed into the burning building without a single hesitation to rescue anyone trapped inside, only to have the building violently explode, killing him instantly.

With a heavy heart and fighting back tears, Cass began to take parts of the Christmas tree out of its box and placed them in color coded order onto the floor.

Once she had all the parts out of the box, she took a look at the instructions on how to properly assemble it.

“Hey Aunt Cass, would you like some help with that?” a voice came from behind her.

She turned around to find Hiro standing behind her, still wearing his pajamas and his hair a bed-ridden mess.

“Perfect timing, Hiro. I wouldn’t know exactly where to start. I’ve never really set up a Christmas tree by myself before. Normally it would have been Tadashi’s job to do.”

“Yeah…it’s no sweat really if you truly know what you’re doing.” Hiro kneeled down and began with the tree’s stand, putting it together piece by piece, then he assembled the base of the tree and set it down on the floor.

Next he began to place the branches in their proper place, matching them up with the color code marked upon the base.

The tree really started to take shape as Hiro worked his way up to the very top, fluffing out the branches as he went.

Once the branches were in place, Hiro then picked up the final part of the tree, carefully stepping up onto a chair and placing it into the base before fluffing out the remaining branches to match the ones on the bottom.

“There, all finished! How does it look?” he asked as he carefully stepped down off the chair and stood beside his Aunt, inspecting his work.

“It looks…..great Hiro! You did a wonderful job for your first time!”

“Thanks Aunt Cass. I guess all those years watching Tadashi do it has taught me something…to think this will be our first Christmas without him.”

“I…I know Hiro.” Cass choked on her words as she wrapped her arm around Hiro, pulling him closer to her.

“Sure won’t be the same without him. Christmas was one of his favorite days of the year.” Hiro sobbed as he leaned into his Aunt’s embrace.

They stood in front of the tree for what felt like an eternity, taking in what had just been said and letting the harsh, cold reality set in. This would be the first of many long years spent without their beloved Tadashi by their side to share in the pleasures and memories life still had to offer the two.

“I miss him so much Aunt Cass. I want him back! It’s just so unfair.”

“Tadashi is still with us Hiro, in spirit.” Cass whispered, holding Hiro at arm’s length. “He will always be with us, as long as we remember him.”

“Aunt Cass, you keep telling me that but it’s just…not….the…same. I want him here. I want him beside me. I want to feel his arms around me; I want to hear his voice…”

Aunt Cass pulled Hiro closer to her, caressing his back in a soothing gentle motion until the loud sobs slowly turned into quiet ones, then sniffling before finally silence filed the air.

She let go of her Nephew to grab a box of tissues, holding it out for Hiro to take a few so he could wipe his tear stained cheeks dry and blow his nose.

“Feel better now that you got your emotions out?”

Hiro nodded.

“Alright. Let’s get to work on decorating this tree, the tree isn’t going to decorate itself you know!”

“Unless I come up with some kind of invention that could decorate Christmas trees. It would save us from doing this job.” Hiro replied with a laugh.

Aunt Cass smiled as she picked up a strand of garland and began wrapping it around the tree starting at the bottom and working her way up.

“Uh, Aunt Cass…I think it’ll be much easier if you started from the top and work your way to the bottom. At least that’s how Tadashi used to do it. Here…I’ll show you." Hiro exclaimed as he took the garland from Cass' hand and began tucking it in around the branch behind the tree so it wouldn't be noticeable. "Take the garland and wrap it just at the base of the top branch like so….then slowly begin to make your way down around the tree, every so often tucking the garland into the branches…the same can be said for the Christmas lights, but we’ll get to that soon enough. When you run out of garland, you take the next strand and continue where you left off, starting on the branch beside where the garland ran out. Once you reach the bottom of the tree like so, just tuck the end of the garland into the back and you’re done. Now try doing the same method with the lights. Start at the top and work your way around to the bottom, wrapping the wire around each branch in a loop fashion.” “Like this Hiro?” Cass asked after doing a few branches.

“Exactly…you’re getting the hang of it Aunt Cass!”

Cass couldn’t help but smile as she continued working on the lights, then a thought crossed her mind.

“Uh, Hiro, how do we know if these still work?”  
“Oh…you haven't checked them yet? Just plug them in and make sure the wires aren't frayed or damaged. The last thing we need is a fire.” Hiro shuttered upon saying the word.

“Not yet…Hiro, could you plug them in to see if they work?”

“Sure.”

Hiro took the end of the lights and plugged them into the nearest outlet, filling the room with a vibrant array of color.

Well what do you know? They still work! Might as well leave them on; it'll be easier to work with.” Cass replied as she continued placing the lights up onto the branches one by one.

“Just be careful if you come across any frayed or damaged wiring; don't want you to get electrocuted, or worse. So…since we're putting up the tree in the café, how long before we'll put up our tree upstairs?”

“I was thinking maybe tonight we could put it up, and then tomorrow we could decorate it with the whole nine yards…now that I know how.”

Hiro smiled.

“I’d like that very much Aunt Cass.”

“Good, then it’s all settled. We’ll put the tree up after dinner…we’re having hot wings tonight, your favorite with the hot sauce that makes your face go numb, some rice and green beans on the side…Ah, I think that aught a do it. What do you think Hiro?”

“It looks very good! Great job. You’re not going to place ornaments on this tree?”

“Nope…we’ve never had ornaments on here…just garland and lights. Anyway, thanks for your help! I better get started on setting things up for the café here; we’ll be opening in a few minutes. Are you going to stick around and lend a hand or do you have plans?”

“Actually Aunt Cass, I do have plans…speaking of which I better head back upstairs and get dressed. I just remembered Wasabi wants me to come over to his place and help him work on this project he’s been thinking of for the past few weeks. I’d said I’d be over by eight o’clock and it’s almost close to it now. I’m sure he’ll be calling soon wondering exactly where I’m at! Sorry.”

“Oh, well that’s ok hon. School is important and it’s good that you’re helping out your friends with their projects! Have fun and don’t work too hard. Don’t want to tucker yourself out before dinner.”

“I won’t…and don’t you work too hard yourself!”

With that, Hiro headed upstairs to get dressed leaving Cass to tend to the café on her own.

 

 

 


	2. Project: Deadly Jika-Tabi Boots

Hiro glanced at his watch and let out a sigh as he stood in front of Wasabi’s door, waiting for him to answer.  
“I hope Wasabi’s not too mad that I’m late,” He muttered to no one in particular as the door swung open. “Hey Wasabi! Sorry I’m late! I was helping Aunt Cass set up the café’s Christmas tree and totally lost track of time.”  
“That’s alright Hiro, Cass told me you were on your way when I called.” Wasabi replied as he let Hiro in.  
“I knew you’d call to see when I was coming.” Hiro laughed as he took a seat on the couch. “So, about this project you’ve been thinking about?”  
“Oh…right. Well I’ve been thinking about upgrading my suit…I’ve got plasma blades on my hands which is cool and all but…uh, remember when we first met up with Yokai and we all tried to get the mask? Honey and Gogo were distracting him while you and Baymax tried to pick the perfect opportune moment to strike then I tried to distract him only to be literally….swept off my feet sort of speak?”  
Hiro cringed upon the memory of that first Yokai battle. “How could anyone really forget, Wasabi? Truth be told, we were so disorganized and dysfunctional it really wasn’t funny.”  
“Well since we’re being truthful here Hiro, we really didn’t have a solid plan to begin with other than to ‘get the mask’, that was it. We had absolutely NO structure to that plan, who would do what, where and when. Each and every one of us made mistakes, vulnerable mistakes that could have easily taken our lives if we weren’t careful! Anyway, getting to the point, I was thinking about creating some plasma blades for my feet. Here, I sketched down what I had in mind.” Wasabi stated as he handed a sheet of paper over to Hiro, who glanced at the messy sketch. “Think you could turn this into a reality?”  
“I don’t see why not if that’s what you really want, but the true question is how to turn an ordinary pair of jika-tabi shoes into a deadly piece of footwear?”  
“I’m sure we can figure that out, somehow. Let’s head over to the Nerd Lab and get things started.”  
“Wasabi, I hate to say this but it’s Saturday. The Institute isn’t open on weekends.”  
“The University isn’t but the Ito Ishioka Robotics Lab is.” Wasabi remarked, throwing on his winter jacket and gloves. “Come on!”  
“Unbelievable!” Hiro sighed, slamming his palm against his forehead before following Wasabi out.

 

At the Nerd Lab, many of students were either hard at work on their projects or just playing catch up on their studies, trying to get everything done before the much needed and very well anticipated Christmas Break ahead.  
Among them of course was the usual gang otherwise known secretively as the Big Hero 6, Honey Lemon, Gogo and Fred.  
Honey at the moment was brushing up on her studies, refreshing her mind on everything she had learned so far throughout the semester.  
Not far from Honey’s station, Gogo continued working on her specialized bike with electromagnet suspension, supposedly making the bike go faster but no matter how hard she tried, the speed just wasn’t up to her standards.  
The nearby recycling bin full of rejected wheels sort of proved that theory tremendously.  
Not far from either station was Fred, sitting in his usual chair munching on junk food, reading comic books and talking nonsense regarding unrealistic things that should be considered scientific, much to the annoyance of Gogo who’s patience was wearing a little thin mostly due to the frustration brought on by her bike.  
“Fred I swear, so help me if you keep this up I’ll…”  
“Just ignore him Gogo…” Honey called from her station.  
“Easily said than done Honey…” Gogo growled as she stormed back to hers, taking off another wheel and throwing it into the already full bin, causing some rejected wheels to fall out onto the floor with a loud crash.  
Just then the door to the lab opened, revealing Wasabi and a very reluctant Hiro who was less than thrilled to be at school on a weekend, let alone close to the holidays.  
“Ok, remind me again why I agreed to help you with this project in the first place? If I knew you would drag me to the Nerd Lab, I would have flat out refused! I mean come on, it’s close to the holidays….you should all be at home relaxing and enjoying the season…not spending time here working like you’ve got nothing else better to do with your lives!” Hiro complained.  
“Hey Hiro, Hi Wasabi. What brings you two here? I thought you guys were done with your studies?” Honey inquired.  
“We are Honey, it’s just that Wasabi here came up with a new project and he needs my help getting it off the ground! He wants to turn an ordinary pair of jika-tabi shoes into a deadly piece of footwear, how I don’t know, that’s why we’re here.” Hiro replied, taking off his coat and throwing it down on a nearby chair.  
“It’s an upgrade for my suit!” Wasabi chimed in.  
“Cool! What did you have in mind exactly?” Fred asked, getting up from his chair and sauntered over to where Wasabi and Hiro stood.  
“Check it out…Hiro, did you bring the sketch?”  
Fetching his jacket from the chair once more, Hiro pulled out the piece of paper Wasabi handed to him earlier and showed it to Fred.  
“Whoa....cool! Now if you could make something like that into a reality, then I’m sure you can make up a concoction that can turn you into a fire breathing monster at will or maybe that invincible sandwich I’ve been telling you guys about….you know.”  
“Fred, seriously I have had enough! Just give it up already! It’s unrealistically impossible to do, as for that invincible sandwich, just pretend you’re eating a sandwich…period!” Gogo muttered as she stormed over to Wasabi’s station just to slap Fred on the head.  
“YEOW…..gee, thanks a lot Gogo. Must be that ‘time of the month’ again!” Fred retorted as he rubbed the back of his head.  
That reply earned Fred another slap, across the face hard, causing him to fall back onto the floor.  
“You shouldn’t have said that Fred.” Wasabi exclaimed as he helped Fred back up.  
“Anyway guys…enough stalling. We’ve got to get started. I promised Aunt Cass I’ll be home by dinner time! You know how she gets if I’m even remotely a few minutes late.”  
“Gotcha Hiro! Let’s get to work!”  
“Alright guys…meanwhile I’m going to take a break. I’ve been here since five thirty this morning working on my bike and no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to get it up to the speed I want it to! I’m exhausted as well as frustrated and I really can’t do this anymore! Honey, you want to come with me? Misery sure could use some company don’t you know!” Gogo remarked, motioning for Honey.  
“Sure…I could use a break myself actually! My brain is starting to hurt from cramming all that information in! See you boys later!” Honey declared, following Gogo out the door.  
“I’m gonna head out too myself. I’ve still got some Christmas shopping to do. See ya’ guys later! Don’t work too hard and whatever you guys do, don’t infuriate Gogo too much huh!” added Fred as he too made his way to the door and left.  
For nearly seven hours without a break, Hiro and Wasabi worked hard creating numerous prototypes but no matter what they did, none seem to worked the way they had hoped for.  
“Well, so much for that idea…at least we tried, right Hiro?” an exhausted Wasabi replied. “Sorry for dragging you into this. You want me to drive you home?”  
“Yeah, sure…what time is it anyway?”  
“Almost five o clock...”  
“Oh shoot…Aunt Cass is probably wondering where I am…normally we usually have supper around four, four thirty. Can I borrow your cell so I can call her to let her know we’re on our way…well I’m on my way?”  
Wasabi pulled out his phone and handed it over to Hiro, who quickly pressed his number in and waited for an answer.  
“Hey Aunt Cass….I know, I know, it’s late…I’m sorry. Wasabi and I got into working on our project and lost track of time. Yeah, he’s going to drop me off…alright see you soon. Bye. Thanks Wasabi.”  
“No problem little man! Let’s head on out. Hey Honey and Gogo, we’re on our way out would you guys like a ride home as well?”  
Gogo glanced over at her bike then to Honey Lemon who was already packing up her books and shutting down her station.  
“I guess so Wasabi…it’s a shame I didn’t get this project done before the year’s end…”  
“Don’t let it get you down Gogo, some things just aren’t meant to be no matter how much time, effort and hard work you put into it just like our little project we had wasted seven hours on. I’m sure someday you’ll get the right formula down for those wheels eventually!” Hiro declared in hopes of cheering the mechanical engineer up somewhat. “Anyway, I wonder how Fred did on that Christmas shopping….since we’re only a few weeks away, I’m sure it’s pretty busy out there.”  
“Yeah, more like a ZOO.” Gogo added.  
“Nah, San Fransokyo doesn’t turn into an actual zoo until the final last days before Christmas. Right now it’s sort of ‘the calm before the storm’ type atmosphere. How many more days do we have left before Christmas anyway?” Honey implored.  
“Since today is December 13th, eleven more days left. Thankfully I’ve already done my shopping! Knowing Aunt Cass, we do our shopping sometime around October/November, that way we don’t have to struggle with the large crowds and heavy traffic. Another reason we get it done so early is because the Lucky Cat gets extremely busy this time of year…with the cold and everything, I swear almost everyone in San Fransokyo comes to our café for a nice hot beverage.”  
“Thankfully I’m done too….I hate the crowds this time of year. So many miserable idiots out there. I mean, seriously where is the Christmas spirit in people?” Gogo asserted. “And seriously don’t get me started on the crazy DRIVERS either! Some drive like their house is on fire or something.”  
“I usually do my shopping throughout the year. If I see something I think someone might like, I get it right there and then.” Added Honey Lemon.  
“But if you do that, then how do you keep track of them?” Wasabi asked.  
“I always write everything down of what I got and where I put them, that way I don’t forget!”  
The whole team nodded as they got to Wasabi’s car and hopped in.  
After waiting a good whole fifteen minutes for the car to warm up, they were all on their way home for the holidays.  
Hiro of course was the first to be dropped off.  
Honey and Gogo quickly jumped out to give him a nice warm holiday hug and wished him wonderful greetings, just in case they didn’t see each other again until after the Christmas season was over.  
“Thanks guys…you know you could always come over on Christmas day and spend time with me and my Aunt. She always makes a lot….even through it’s only just….the….two….of…..us…. now.” Hiro sighed, memories of his late brother filled his mind.  
“Yeah, we might…if we don’t have plans of course. We’ll see alright buddy? If not, Merry Christmas!” Wasabi declared from inside the car.  
Honey and Gogo gave him another hug before jumping back into the vehicle.  
After a few waves, they were off.  
Hiro watched them go for a few minutes more until they were out of sight, then sadly stepped into the house.  
“Hiro…is that you sweetie?” Aunt Cass called from the upstairs kitchen.  
“Yeah, it’s me.” Hiro replied as he slowly made his way up the stairs, glancing at the various family photos that lined the walls.  
One particular picture was that of him and Tadashi when they were very little on Christmas morning.  
Hiro looked to be only an infant, dressed in a festive Santa Claus onesie while Tadashi wore a two piece decorated in numerous robots both on the shirt as well as the pants.  
Both were very happy sitting in front of the Christmas tree, a pile of ripped up wrapping paper surrounding them as well as various toys and treats they had received.  
Sadly, Hiro sighed as he carefully ran his fingers across the photo where Tadashi sat.  
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn’t even hear his Aunt talking to him.  
Suddenly he felt a strong arm wrap around him, coaxing him up the rest of the stairs towards the dining room where Dinner was already served on a plate.  
“I just miss him so much Aunt Cass.” He replied as he began picking at his chicken wings.  
“I know you do honey, we both miss him and I know this season is going to be very hard on the both of us…but we have to stay strong ok? Maybe we could invite your friends over.” Aunt Cass offered.  
“We could…but when they dropped me off, they said they might have plans…I had offered them to come over and spend Christmas with me because you make so much food but….they said they will see.”  
“Well, maybe they too have family to go to as well…”  
“Yeah, lucky them. I wish I still had a family.”  
“You do sweetie, you have me…and as far as I’m concerned, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon! Ok Kiddo? Now come on, let’s get that chin up, finish up our hot wings, clean ourselves up and get that tree up! What do you say?”  
Hiro looked up and smiled as he took a bite of chicken.  
“Sure thing Aunt Cass!”

Author's Note: First off forgive me for the late update on this chapter! Writer's Block as well as dealing with real life circumstances have made it next to impossible to sit here and write this but I managed to get through it. Second of all, for those who have left kudos, thank you so much! It's truly appreciated very much!!


	3. I'm getting too old for that now

Chapter 3

The Christmas music played loudly through the TV speakers as Cass and Hiro began decorating their home.  
What should have been just setting up the Christmas tree quickly escalated to the whole nine yards, untangling the lights and placing them up around the windows and walls, hanging garland wherever either one saw fit and fully decorating the tree, something that was supposed to be held over till the next day.  
After three whole hours of nonstop decorating, both Nephew and Aunt were down right exhausted as they cuddled together on the couch with some rich smooth hot chocolate, the once blaring Christmas music now turned off in favor of a Christmas movie.  
“Well, that sure was fun.” Cass remarked, breathing a sigh of relief. “Now all that’s left is to wrap your presents up and put them underneath the tree…however I won’t do that till early Christmas morning when you’re fast asleep.”  
“Is that when you do them?” Hiro asked.  
“Yes…ever since our first Christmas together I’ve always wrapped the gifts up Christmas morning that way you would be even more surprised when you woke up. Now that you know my little secret, I trust you won’t wake up early just to snoop…”  
Hiro let out a little laugh. “No Aunt Cass…besides I’m getting a bit too old to be snooping around. I like to be surprised. After all, isn’t that what the holidays are all about?”  
Cass smiled as she took a sip of hot chocolate, looking out the window at the snow slowly falling.  
“I’m so happy we’re getting a white Christmas this year. It’s so rare to receive snow in San Fransokyo.”  
“Yeah, sure brings out the feeling of Christmas even more so when it’s all mixed in with the sparkling garlands and bright colorful lights. Anyway, I’m going to call it a night.”  
“Alright honey, good night and sweet dreams.” Cass replied, giving her Nephew a hug and kiss on the forehead. “I love you!”  
“Night Aunt Cass! I Love you too.” He replied back as he began up the stairs.  
Once up in his room, Hiro let out a sigh as he slumped down upon the bed.  
On impulse, he glanced over to the empty side of the room that belonged to Tadashi, something he had been doing since the night of the SFIT hall fire and choked back a sob, promptly activating Baymax from his portable suitcase, situated by the stairs.  
Once inflated, he stepped out and waddled over to the crying boy on the bed.  
“Hello, I am Baymax. Your personal healthcare companion. I heard a sound of…distress. What seems to be the trouble?” the plush marshmallow robot spoke in monotone.  
“Oh…B-Bay-Baymax, n-nothing is wr-wrong…I-I am f-fine. I’m fine.” Hiro stuttered while hiccupping from the tears he had just momentarily shed.  
“You don’t seem to be fine, Hiro. Your neurotransmitter levels have dropped rapidly. This may indicate that you may be sad or depressed.”  
“You think?! I’m crying am I not?”  
Baymax didn’t reply, instead he tilted his head to one side and blinked his eyes, completely oblivious to Hiro’s sarcasm.  
“Look Baymax, I just had a very rough day today. That’s all. I’m gonna head off to bed so you can shrink now. I am satisfied with my care.”  
Baymax blinked once more before waddling back to his luggage and deflated into the case, leaving Hiro alone once more.  
He put on his pajamas then climbed into bed, glancing over at Tadashi’s side of the room one more time before turning off the light.  
“Oh how I wish you were here with me, Tadashi.” He murmured as he settled into the covers for what was sure to be a very troublesome long night.

 

‘It’s 9:30 here in beautiful San Fransokyo on this rare fine wintery December day, we’re now only four more shopping days away until Chris…..’ Hiro turned off his alarm clock radio and rolled back over to sleep, but before he could doze back off…  
“Hiro, are you awake sweetie?” Aunt Cass called from down stairs.  
“Yeah…I guess so.” Came Hiro’s tired reply as he sat up on the bed, rubbing his eyes clear of sleep before stepping out onto the cold bedroom floor and making his way down stairs.  
“What time do you want to go down to the mall?” Cass continued.  
“The mall? What’s at the mall? I thought we were done all our Christmas shopping.”  
“Well, I thought we could go down to the mall and have our annual picture taken with Santa.”  
Hiro completely forgot about that one particular tradition in the Hamada Family.  
Every year Aunt Cass would take the boys down to the mall nearly four or five days before Christmas to see Santa and give him their letters of what they wanted the most for Christmas.   
Now that Tadashi was no longer with them, Hiro didn’t really see much of the point of going anymore.  
“Oh, that….I don’t think I want to go this year Aunt Cass.”   
“Why not? It’s tradition to go see Santa and give him your request of what you truly want for Christmas.”  
“What I truly want for Christmas, Santa can’t give me. As far as I know, Santa can’t bring people back from the dead.”  
Aunt Cass felt a pang of sadness as well as hurt go through her when Hiro said that.  
“Besides, I’m getting too old for that anyway. It was all fine and dandy when I was younger but now it just feels utterly ridiculous.”  
“Oh…well, alright then. If you don’t want to go then we don’t have to. We could always spend the day baking some Christmas goodies or go out tobogganing later on if you’d like….”  
Hiro cringed upon the suggestion of tobogganing, yet another activity he felt was getting too old for, however if he declined that as well, his Aunt would start to wonder if holiday depression was setting in.  
“I guess we could bake…” he muttered quietly.  
“Great, we could turn on the Christmas music and…”  
“No….I don’t feel like listening to Christmas music right now…I just want to bake in silence.”  
“Hiro…” Aunt Cass began, unsure exactly on what to say or how to even say it, but she knew it had to be brought up. “You’re not starting to get depressed on me, are you?”  
“What? No…no Aunt Cass. I’m not depressed. I’m just, not in the mood right now, that’s all.”  
“Hiro sweetie, I think we need to talk. Come here.”  
Hiro walked over to Cass, his eyes diverted to the floor as he approached, not wanting to make eye contact with her as she wrapped her arms tight around him.  
“I know you’re hurting Hiro Hamada. I know you’ve been hurting for quite some time and its showing. I can tell you’re putting on a painted smile and masking the pain deep inside, not wanting me to worry or be concerned but I see right through you. I can see what you’re trying to do. The night that we decorated the house….when you went upstairs to bed, I couldn’t help but over hear you crying. I know it’s our first Christmas without him and things just don’t seem to be the way they used to be.”  
Hiro fought back the urge to cry in his Aunt’s embrace but found it very hard as he listened to her words.  
Immediately he wrapped his arms tight around her waist and let all his pent up emotions out upon her shoulder.   
“It hurts me too Hiro. Every night I cry for Tadashi as well, wishing he could come home, wishing he could still be with us to share in the magic and memories of this and many other Christmases to come.” Cass continued, now sobbing herself. “But he won’t and never will physically, however he is still with us in spirit as long as we remember him, as long as we remember the memories….Tadashi wouldn’t want us to just give up everything because he’s no longer with us, he would love more than anything to have those traditions continue because he wants you to be happy. I’m sure he’s hurting just as much too…he’s hurting to see you like this and he doesn’t want to see you hurt anymore sweetie. He wants to see you be happy again and so do I, ok Hiro?”  
“Y-y-yes Aunt Cass. I’m sorry. I just feel so alone without him here.”  
“You’re not alone honey. You have me, you have Baymax and you have your friends. The reason why they’ve yet to promise coming over to our place is because they’re probably waiting on confirmation with their own families. They don’t want to promise something and then have some sort of family reunion pop up out of the blue that they need to go to and can’t make it here, disappointing you in the process….so don’t worry Hiro, alright? I’m sure things will work out. You know what they say; Holidays are a time for miracles. If one was to happen to the Hamada family, guarantee it will happen sometime around Christmas. You watch, ok Sweetie? Just don’t give up hope, alright?”  
Hiro nodded as Aunt Cass broke the embrace to caress his wet cheek, wiping the tears away.  
“Tadashi loves you sweetie, no matter where he is he will always love you.”  
“Tadashi is here!” came Baymax’s monotone voice as he carefully waddled down the stairs towards Cass and Hiro, joining in the embrace.  
“That’s right Baymax. Tadashi will always be here. Now, what do you say to some Holiday baking huh? We’ll make some sugar cookies, some shortbread, a batch of Rice Krispy Squares and peppermint brownies. Sounds good?”   
“Yeah….sounds good to me Aunt Cass. Thanks Baymax! By the way, how did you activate?” Hiro inquired.  
“Hairy Baby said ‘ow’.”  
Hiro and Cass couldn’t help but laugh at the response as Mochi came down the stairs after Baymax, purring and meowing against the robot’s inflatable legs.  
“What seems to be the trouble?” Baymax asked the cat as he meowed again.  
“Baymax, nothing’s wrong with Mochi. He’s perfectly fine!” Cass remarked as she went into the kitchen to get things ready.   
“But he said ‘ow’, Hiro. I clearly heard him say ‘ow’.”  
“No…no…you’re not hearing the ME before the ‘OW’ making it MEOW.” Hiro stated as Mochi came over to rub his leg affectionately. “So, you want to watch us bake some Christmas goodies Baymax?”  
“I would love to Hiro. Would you like me to put on some Christmas music for you to listen to?”  
“We would love to!”

 

Meanwhile at Lee Manor, Fred was in his room wrapping up some gifts he had bought for everyone when there was a knock on the door.  
“Who is it?” He asked, frantically hiding all the gifts underneath his bed sheets before heading over to the door.  
“It’s me sir, Heathcliff. I have Honey Lemon on the line, she says it’s urgent.”  
Fred opened the door to find his butler holding the phone in one hand while covering up the talk piece with the other.  
“I’ve got it Heathcliff. Thanks!” Fred remarked as he took the phone and dismissed him before closing the door. “Honey, hey what’s up sweet tart?”  
“Hey Fred….have you heard from the others yet regarding Christmas Day?” Honey inquired on the other end.  
“Not yet, however I do know my folks and I will be heading over to the Hamada household for the day. After I had told my Dad what Hiro and Cass had gone through, he’d offer that we spend our time with them instead of having our own get together. I got Hiro some things that I’m sure he might like…oh and I got for you guys too but I’m not going to tell you what they are…You’ll gonna have to wait til Christmas!”  
“Oooooohhhhh, I love surprises Freddie……is it a sweater?”  
“No.”  
“A box of chocolates?”  
“No.”  
“A new housecoat?”  
“No….I’m not telling, nor am I going to give you any hints so you can stop guessing now.”  
“Ok….”Honey said, sounding a bit disappointed but it didn’t last long as her cheery side came back. “Oh I just can’t wait til Christmas! Anyway, the reason I called is because I just got off the phone with my family, they said they’re not going to be doing Christmas this year, kind of sad really cause I was really looking forward to seeing them…. Oh well I guess I’ll be joining you this year! Besides, I’m sure Hiro would be happy to have us there….wouldn’t he?”  
“For sure! Anyway, I’ll let my Mom and Dad know you’re coming too…..do you want us to pick you up in the family limo or uh….”  
“Or I could just come over to your place and we could go from there….?”  
“Yeah, that sounds even better….oh just don’t tell Hiro about any of this….it’s supposed to be a surprise.”  
“My lips are sealed! Alright Fred….I’ll see you about what? Nine O’ Clock Christmas Day?”  
“Yeah sure, we won’t be leaving till around Ten O’ Clock anyway so nine should be fine! Alright Honey, I’ll talk to you later! Bye.”  
As soon as Fred got off the phone with Honey, the phone rang again.  
“Hello, Lee Manor. Fred speaking.”  
“Hey Fred….it’s Wasabi. Got any plans for Christmas Day yet?”  
“Wasabi….my man! Yeah, the folks and I are spending our Christmas over at the Hamada household this year. After telling my Father about what they had been through, he’d offer our family time to be spent with them. Honey is also going to be coming since her family opt out on Christmas this year. She didn’t really go into details, but I can tell she’s pretty bummed out about it. Oh well, at least she has Christmas free to spend time with Hiro and his Aunt who are in total need of companionship. That’s what friends are for after all, right?”  
“Totally….you can count me in as well Fred. My family is having a bit of an altercation right now that I plan to avoid entirely. Besides, Hiro needs me more than they do anyway!”  
This news made Fred smile even wider.   
“Sorry to hear of your family Wasabi but hey, kudos on spending time with Hiro. Oh man we’re going to have so much fun this year. All that’s left is Gogo….oh, hold on a sec got another call….Hello Lee Manor, this is Fred speaking!”  
“Hey Fred!”  
“Gogo, Hey girl, we were just talking about you!”  
“Exactly who is this ‘WE’?” Gogo asked with a hint of anger rising in her voice.  
“Wasabi and I…I’ve got him on hold at the moment. Great timing considering. Honey had just called to confirm, so has Wasabi……my Family and I are heading over to the Hamada’s to spend Christmas with them, all we need is one more!”  
“You can count on me Fred! That’s why I called to see if you had heard from the others. My family and I, we don’t really get along no matter what time of year it is. If anything, I’d rather avoid them at all costs. I was hoping you would have some sort of plan in place to cheer Hiro up. He sure looked bummed out when we last saw him.”  
“Yeah, well you would be too if you had recently lost someone close to you like Hiro has. Christmas is known to be a very difficult time for people, especially for someone who may still be in mourning or grieve, that’s why my folks and I are doing this….to help the Hamada Family through their first of many special moments without Tadashi.”  
“It’s going to be hard on all of us Fred. Tadashi Hamada was OUR best friend and all of us miss him deeply. It sure isn’t the same without him. Anyway, what time are you guys heading over to the Hamada’s?”  
“About Ten O’ Clock, so somewhere between Eight or Nine is good….although I do like to sleep in a bit on Christmas morning, so uh….if you come around Eight, Heathcliff will let you in.”  
“I’ll just come around Nine then if that’s ok?”  
“Nine is good…..anyway, sorry to let you go, but I still have Wasabi on the line and I don’t want to keep him waiting.”  
“No problem Fred….see you at Nine Christmas Day.”  
“Bye Gogo……Wasabi, you still there buddy?”  
“Yeah, still here. Let me guess, that was Gogo on the line?”  
“You better believe it. It’s officially a go! The Big Hero 6 are spending the holidays with the Hamada Family!!!!!”

 

Author’s Note: Well, there you have it folks, the third chapter done and done…..so very sorry about the major delay in this update. Since Christmas has come and gone, it gets more and more harder to keep that holiday frame of mind…..furthermore it’s been a pretty busy Christmas Day for me spending as much time with my folks as I can! I hope this chapter is alright!! Seems Hiro is in for a BIG Holiday surprise after all! For those whom have commented or adding this story to your favorites, Thank you OH SO VERY MUCH!!!! It truly means a lot to me!


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